A staggering 42 million driverless vehicles will be on our roads by 2035.
That’s the prediction of market research company ABI Research which said the numbers of driverless cars will ramp from 1.1 million in 2024 to over 42 million in 2035.
But these optimistic forecasts don’t take into account bottlenecks including user acceptance, security, liability and regulation.
Google has already been forced by the California Department of Motor Vehicles to test prototypes with steering wheel, brake and acceleration pedals installed.
Tesla said last week that it will move into the driverless car market but other car manufacturers are havering over making a decision.
“While autonomous driving under the control of a human standby driver is quickly gaining acceptance, robotic vehicles mostly remain out of bounds, especially for car manufacturers, despite Google’s recent announcement to start prototype testing. However, only driverless vehicles will bring the full range of automation benefits including car sharing; driverless taxis, and delivery vans; social mobility for kids, elderly, and impaired; and overall economic growth through cheaper and smoother transportation critical in an increasing number of smart mega cities. Many barriers remain but the path towards robotic vehicles is now firmly established with high rewards for those first-to-market,” said ABI Research director Dominique Bonte.
